It is known from the prior art that the starting of a powerful motor in the form of an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine, for instance, which is used for driving a machine, such as, for example, in traction applications for trains or agricultural machines, is often realized using an additional, but in return significantly smaller, that is to say less powerful, auxiliary motor, which obtains its starting energy via an additional battery connected to the auxiliary motor, a so-called starter battery. Such an arrangement is found in motor vehicles, for example. In that case a starter battery embodied as an accumulator supplies the electric current for the starter of the motor in the form of the internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle. Besides the task of providing a specific energy potential or voltage level for starting the motor, however, the starter battery is often supplementarily used to support the supply of the on-board electrical network and diverse loads—connected thereto—of the vehicle.
A similar method for starting a motor is described in WO 2012/091831. In that case, a motor is connected to an alternator and an additional auxiliary motor. The alternator generates the necessary traction energy for the drive of the vehicle. The additional auxiliary motor is fed by a battery in order to provide the required torque for launching and starting the motor.
The methods known from the prior art for starting a motor, with a starter battery, have various disadvantages, however. Often the energy potential provided by the battery is insufficient during the process of starting the motor if the battery is designed for example only to provide a relatively low supply voltage of 24 volts. In such a case, an additional component part such as a step-up converter, for example, has to ensure that the energy potential provided by the battery is raised to a higher energy potential Moreover, the relatively low voltage provided by the battery brings about high battery currents during the process of starting the motor.
A further disadvantage concerning the use of a starter battery consists in the temperature-dependent performance thereof. However, this disadvantage is generally shared by all batteries. The performance of a battery decreases all the more here, the lower the ambient temperature to which the battery is exposed.